Arya
Arya (titled Arya Svit-kona; also known as Arya Dröttningu) was a female elf, the daughter of Queen Islanzadí and her mate, the late King Evandar, and therefore a princess. Arya was stunningly beautiful, with raven-black hair and green eyesArya is described as having black hair and green eyes in the book; however, her appearance is slightly different in the film.. She was also a master swordswoman and magic user. Eragon expressed his deep feelings for her on many occasions, but because of the broad age gap between them, Arya chose to reject his advances. __TOC__ History Early years Arya was born a year before the Fall of the Riders, placing her age near 100 years. Arya was banned from Islanzadí's presence because she chose to devote herself to the greater good of her race (symbolised by her accepting the yawe), and to the cause of the Varden. She has been the elven ambassador to the Varden for seven decades. She was appointed the courier of the one dragon egg Brom and Jeod had managed to recover from Galbatorix's clutches, and spent 15 years conveying the precious egg back and forth from Farthen Dûr to Ellesméra, in the hopes that eventually a new Dragon Rider would be found. Capture Galbatorix somehow got wind of this arrangement, and sent the Shade, Durza, to ambush Arya and recapture the egg. The Shade managed to accomplish the former, but failed the latter, for Arya teleported the egg into the wilds of the Spine, intending that Brom, in Carvahall, would find it. Instead, the egg came to Eragon, and Arya was imprisoned in Gil'ead.That is where she underwent torture, refusing to reveal any information about the Varden or the Elves. Each day, she was given a dose of a deadly poison, called Skilna Bragh, that would slowly kill her while undermining her magic abilities. Rescue She was scryed by Eragon in his sleep- extraordinarily, because scrying usually was limited to objects and places the viewer had seen in the past, and required a reflective surface to project their image onto. Eragon was heavily impacted by his visions of this mysterious lady.When he himself was captured by Durza and imprisoned in the same prison as the Elf was being held he encountered her for the first time. When Murtagh and Saphira staged a daring rescue mission, Eragon insisted that Arya come along with them, despite the difficulties this might incur upon their travels. When Eragon attempted to heal her, he found she was branded, whipped, and beaten. Arya remained in a self-induced comatose state, which slowed the effects of the deadly poison within her. Mentally communicating with Eragon, however, she informed him that unless they could reach the Varden, who had the antidote - Tunivor's Nectar - she would die within three or four days. Farthen Dûr The trio, Murtagh, Eragon and Saphira, managed to deliver Arya to the Varden in Farthen Dur in time for her to be saved. She was treated back to health and was the one who tested Eragon in his trial for swordmanship. Arya also fought in the battle between the Varden and the Kull. Before the battle, she explained to Eragon that elves were unlike human women, who would flee when danger arrived. Arya went up to the dragonhold with Eragon and Saphira, and whilst Eragon went down the trough to reach Durza, Arya helped take off Saphiras damaged armour. Once she had done, she broke the Isidar Mithrim with magic and distracted Durza long enough for Eragon to kill him. Ellesméra and The Burning Plains After the battle and the havoc wreaked by the death of Ajihad, she accompanied Eragon to Ellesméra, where she was reconciled with her estranged mother. Her feelings towards Eragon, however, began to grow cool, as he approached her with unwanted admiration. Following the Blood-Oath Celebration, she returned to the Varden, and aided them in preparing for attack by Galbatorix's forces. She fought at the Battle of The Burning Plains. She was, along with Nasuada, the first one to know that Eragon was Morzan's son. Arya's Family Arya's family was one of the several royal houses in Ellesméra. Arya's family, whose line possibly dated back to Queen Tarmunora, had been in power for many years. Tarmunora was succeeded by Dellanir, Arya's grandmother, implying that Tarmunora was of the same elven house. However, she could have handed the throne to another royal house, as Elves sometimes do. Dellanir ruled for centuries before voluntarily abdicating in favor of her son, Evandar. Evandar then became king and mated with an Elf princess, Islanzadí, who gave birth to Arya. Evandar died at the hands of either Galbatorix or one of the Forsworn about one hundred years before the Rider War, and Islanzadí ruled after him. It is unclear how many family members Arya has apart from her mother; however, Arya has stated that she has no brothers or sisters. The only other member of the same House mentioned, and that only in passing, was named Niduen. Niduen sent a gift to Eragon when he arrived in Ellesméra, but it is uncertain what relation Niduen was to Arya. "House Dröttning" is a misnomer, Drottning means 'Queen' in Old Norse and Drottning is also the Swedish word for 'queen', which Christopher Paolini's Ancient Language borrows heavily from. Dröttning in the broader sense may refer to a female sovereign, the spouse of the ruler or simply mean mistress.(See the link below). The word has survived in modern usage in Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic and Danish where it means Queen. The word drottning in Old Norse shares etymological roots with drottin which means lord, ruler, chief.(See the link below). Drottin is now out of usage in modern descendants of Old Norse as it was replaced by Konungr, which particularly means king. For more details see the Wikipedia article on [[Wikipedia:Drightin| drottin]] or look up the relevant etymologies on the internet. * In Christopher Paolini's works it is Islanzadí's title. There is a clear distinction between the two titles "Dröttning" and "Dröttningu", these terms are never used interchangeably and neither is this a case of typographical error. This can be seen from a number of ocassions in the book, Eldest: 1.pg.170, line 5 : the sentinel Edurna addresses her as Arya Dröttningu. 2.pg.172, line 3 : again as Arya Dröttningu. 3.pg.206, line 18 : referred to as Arya Dröttningu by Lifaen. 4.pg.230, line 20 : Elf-lord Dathedr, addresses her as Arya Dröttningu. 5.pg.226, line 16 : Arya addresses her formally as Islanzadí Dröttning. 6.pg.227, line 25 : Eragon greets her as Islanzadí Dröttning. 7.pg.270, line 12 : Oromis addresses her as Islanzadí Dröttning. In each case Arya is Drottningu while Islanzadí is Dröttning. * In addition the structure of the invented Ancient Language needs to be considered. The grammar dictates that the principal noun precedes the adjective or the helping noun. The case is exactly opposite in English! (Hence creating the misleading impression that Dröttning is the surname) eg: Vinr Alfakyn not Alfakyn Vinr (Vinr = Friend; Alfakyn = Elves/Elfkind viz literal transliteration is Friend Elf but actual translation is Elf Friend). similarly, Du Fells Nangoroth (Fells = Mountains(Old Norse); Nangoroth = Blasted); Du Fryn Skulblaka (Fryn = War; Skulblaka = Dragon); Agaeti Blodhren (Agaeti = Celebration(Old Norse); Blodhren = Blood-Oath(Blodh = blood - Old Norse)); Du Vollr Eldrvarya (Vollr = Plains/Fields/Grounds (Old Norse); Eldrvarya = Burning (Eldr = fire - Old Norse)). Eragon states that the Du Vrangr Gata are ignorant, as correctly they should be named Du Gata Vrangr, where Gata = Path and Vrangr = Wandering. (again see Old Norse). When he pays his tribute to the dead king Hrothgar he says, "Stydja unin mor'ranr Hrothgar Konungr" not Konungr Hrothgar! There are many more examples in the books, Eldest and Eragon. Therefore the correct usage is Islanzadi Dröttning, not Drottning Islanzadi; likewise Arya Dröttningu, not Dröttningu Arya. * It would also seem absurd to call Evandar, a male elf, Evandar Dröttning (which is a feminine word). If the situation arises, he would probably be called formally as Evandar Konungr. * The word drottningu is a bit more obscure but it definitely means princess in Old Norse. (See link below) * The system of giving family or last names is very different in the fictional Alagaesia from the real English-speaking world: 1. Dwarves introduce themselves as so and so's son. eg: Orik Thrifk's son, Thorv Brokk's son. 2. Elves customarily introduce themselves as hailing from such and such House. eg: Lifaen of House Rilvenar, Vanir of House Haldthin, Bellaen of House Miolandra. 3. Some humans have been referred to by adding the suffix sson to their father's name. eg: Roran Garrowsson, Murtagh Morzansson. This practice is followed in present day in Nordic countries, where the corresponding suffix for a woman is sdottir after her father's name. * Lastly I would point to the last piece of evidence from Eldest, Bellaen's note to Eragon: (See pg. 241, 242). He introduces himself as from House Miolandra. However he wrote that Niduen was from Islanzadí's House. Wouldn't it be more simpler and straight-forward to write Niduen of House Dröttning - this would be incorrect due to above mentioned reasons. It would be incorrect as well to write Niduen Dröttning or Niduen Dröttningu as she isn't the sovereign of the elves or the heir incumbent and may not even be royalty - therefore the title wouldn't apply in her case. This edit has been written with the intention of conveying that Dröttning and Dröttningu are used as titles in Christopher Paolini's fiction not as the surname or name of the House. The author would have his own reasons for not disclosing the name of Arya's house or may simply not have foreseen such a misconception. For further reference please see the Zoega Old Icelandic dictionary and Cleasby Vigfusson Old Icelandic dictionary both available for free viewing at the [http://www.northvegr.org Northvegr Foundation's] website. There are many free to download Old Norse - English dictionaries available online. Links: [http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/096.php Zoega entry on drottin/''drottning''] [http://www.northvegr.org/vigfusson/107.php Vigfusson entry on drottin/''drottning''] Speculations * It has been speculated that Arya may be the next Dragon Rider, as the dragon from a future book would be green, the color associates with Arya's magic and also her eyes. Also in her favor are the fact that she is Eragon's love interest and that she is female - This would even out the dragon riders, as all are currently male. However, it is unknown if Arya isn't in love with Eragon already. Other fans disregard this theory, as the books stated that dragons don't choose their riders for their magic or the color of their eyes. It is still unclear if she will or will not become the next Dragon Rider. * As she knew Brom, it is that possible she was the woman Brom loved. Since they lived at the same time, and Arya was easy to fall in love with, the two possibly loved each other and Arya was only thought to be dead but Brom never knew, since Brom died right before Eragon rescued her. This would make sense, if you think about it, Brom was alive during the fall of the riders, making him over 100 years old. Arya was born the year after the fall, making her 100. * The most likely and probable theory is that she loved one of her guards (when she was guarding Saphira's egg) Fäolin. In Eldest, she reveals to Eragon that he (Fäolin) made her a flower during a celebration, as well as she refused to speak about him as Eragon asked about the two guards that died during the Shade's attack. There was also a potrait of him (assumed), when Eragon visited her to apologize in Ellesmera. * It's also possible that she had had intimate relations with more than one character, seeing as the elves have no formal marriage system. However, she is still quite young for an elf, and maybe only had a mutual affection for one of her guards, (Fäolin). * Despite the fact that she is said to reject Eragon's love for her, certain fans suspect that she is only trying to avoid distracting him from his training, certain fans also suspect that Arya and Eragon might be together after the war against Galbatorix and his Empire is over. Real-world connections Similarities *Arya is similar to J.R.R Tolkien's Arwen (even her name is similar). Both are elves, and both are loved by a human. (Eragon and Aragorn, whose names are even closer) The main difference between them is that Arwen falls in love with Aragorn. *Arya's name in Old Persian means "noble" while Arwen's name means "noble lady" * Arya is also comparable to Star Wars' Leia Organa who was originally intended to be Luke's love interest. Other *Arya was portrayed by Sienna Guillory in the film version of Eragon. *The word "Arya" itself is a Sanskrit and Avestan/Old Persian word that means "noble". *Arya's title Drottningu comes from the Old Norse and Old Icelandic drottningu meaning princess or misteress. *Arya is one of the most-criticised characters of Inheritance. It is argued that her character is one-dimensional, as Paolini focuses more on her beauty and skills in battle than her personality. The scene in Eldest when she attacks a dwarven priest's religious beliefs have also been criticised, as it made her appear rather bigoted and intolerant. Arya is the Indian name of a woman or girl. Notes Category:Characters Category:Elves Category:Magic users Category:Varden Category:Royalty Category:Females es:Arya